McKinley Tennyson's status???

I don't have any info, just some inferences.

McKinley refused to sign with MLS out of college. I believe he made disparaging remarks about the team that drafted him, Columbus.

He kicked around Europe trying to find someone to play for. Either he failed to impress or simply rubbed teams the wrong way, but he finally decided MLS was good enough for him. Where does he go? To the Galaxy, his old coach Sigi (from UCLA).

Now, if McKinley was as good as he thought he was, wouldn't he have been able to beat out Mullen, Albright and the other stiffs that Sigi was forced to pair with Ruiz? Sigi decided he wasn't quite ready and set up a deal for Tennyson to play for the Galaxy A-League affiliate (sort of a "just in case" policy).

As far as I know, McKinley isn't in the plans for LA now. Why? Good question.

If I had to guess, I'd venture it's some type of attitude/maturity problem. For some reason, I get Junior Agogo vibes from him. Maybe he doesn't listen to coach's instructions. Perhaps he likes to party too much? Skill and size are there, but if he's not interested in being a "team" player, then teams will find someone else who fits in....

 

The two who have posted previously are complete idiots full of conjecture who know nothing of real American soccer. Tennyson is simply waiting to be paid the wage which he deserves- which is not the MLS minimum wage. Tennyson wopuld lead the quakes in goals easily if he joined- Ching could not even carry his jock to the laundry.

 

Being a big fan of Kei, I thought I would chime in here...

First off, The Timbers are no-ones' "affiliate". In fact I think I remember beating said "parent club" last year 2- 1 and if I remember correctly I remember beating you guys 2-0 the year before

But more on topic...

Tennyson has bounced from LA, to SJ to Chi this pre-season trying to find a home. He has stuck no where.

To be honest I really don't 100% what the problem has been. Some of it is bad luck (pulled a hamstring in Chicago) and some of it is $$$ related. He just will not play for $850 a month a a P-40 or Developmental contract. He can make 5 times that here in Portland.

He scored 19 goals in 12 games for us last year. But prior to his scoring streak he had a really slow start and as far as we could tell he was a bit of a head case.

Kei seems to be one of those mercurial strikers who are either hot as hell or not. If he get's the confidence there is no stopping the guy, big and strong and fast as hell. I think confidence, consitency and maturity is a problem though. I was really surprised to see FY take Ching over Kei. While I am not raggin on Ching (he is a good player) I think Kei has a far greater upside.

Kei is only 23 and I still think that he could be a star in MLS. Hopefully the Timbers will get him back for one more year and then he will stick some where.

 

I don't know of any player at the early stages of their career that does not think they are worth more than what the MLS pays, the difference is many recognize that they need to get into the league and prove themselves before they will get the $$$$. If money is the issue perhaps it is time to take the hit and join the league--if he can make it. It is hard to say but even at 23 the 17 and 18 year old players will start to take the roster spots that he might have had.

 

To be clear ... I have no proof of what the Quakes offered or did not offer Kei. What I do know is that in 2002 LA offered him a p-40 position and he turned it down to come play in Portland and get some real time. At the end of last season he was brought back for L.A.'s playoff run as a P-40 player.

S0...when he was trying out for SJ I have no idea what he was trying out as, but since he had been a P-40 player up unitl that point I highly doubt they were throwing any serious $$$ his way. In the end though the signed Ching anyway so the whole point is moot.

To be fair to Kei...the Columbus thing was 2 years ago, L.A. wanted him as a p-40 player and he was hurt the first day in his tryout for Chicago. So SJ is really the only MLS team he had a run out for this year that wound up NOT taking him.

 

OK, let me give you a dollop or two of truth here.

First of all, Big Mac did not make disparaging remarks about Columbus or anybody else.

Rather, he refused to sign with MLS, like Cory Gibbs and Robert Russel did the same year. All three would have been first round draft choices.

Instead, because they were not signed, Russell lasted until the second round, Gibbs and Lord Tennyson until the fourth.

All three of them felt they had a good enough game to play overseas for good money. It's no secret that MLS rookies are underpaid, and they wanted to do better.

Tennyson got a tryout with Bryne of the Norwegian Tippelliga, for whom he played in the La Manga Tourney. They didn't make him an offer.

Then he had an extended tryout with St Pauli in Germany, where Gibbs is. They didn't want him either.

Finally, he got a contract with GIF Sundsvall in the Swedish first division. They were close to relegation and were desperate for striking help.

He played in a couple games, and started one or two as well. He did not score, and was let go at the end of the season.

LA meanwhile had traded a second round pick to CBus for his rights. He came back to the US tried out with LA, but didn't make the team. He ended up playing for the Timbers, where he scored a bunch of A League goals. Due to some injuries, he was 'called up" and got to sit on the Gals bench for their last couple of games. Never took off his warmups.

The word on the Hoosier Daddy is that he has "world class speed" and "a cannon for a right leg". Both served him well in the A League.

Unfortunately, he does not have particularly good touch, cannot create his own shots and has trouble with defenders he can't just run past.

Bottom line, he could probably fill a role with the Quakes, or somebody else, but an awful lot of people have had the chance to see and evaluate him professionally, and have found him wanting. He's just not the answer to anybody's problems.

 

Sorry Bill but you got some of your facts wrong....

1) Kei was offered a P-40 contract by L.A. last season but he decided to get playing time in Portland instead. And it served him well as he was the league leading scorer.

2) When he returned to L.A. last year for the playoff stretch he took the place of an injured P-40 player. He did play in a few games and in fact scored at the end of one game. Although I would not disagree with your statement that he was a deep bench player.

I don't really disagree with your anaylsis of him as a player. The guy is a classic target player. He is also pretty damn good in the air also. He needs to get better on the ball and making runs off of it. But that is why I say the kid has a real up-side. He is a very good player who needs to do a few things to take him to the next level. I think, given the chance, he would make some MLS team very happy up front. He has got to be better than Albright, Ching etc.

 

Hmm....change the wording to "cannon for a left leg" and you just described Junior Agogo. I guess I'm not the only one that sees simularities.

It's this part that makes you wonder about Tennyson. Sigi Schimd recruited him to UCLA. He knows McKinley better then anyone in MLS (or Europe for that matter) and he chose NOT to add him to the roster. Why?

RB, I can feel the love all the way here in Monterey.



I said from the beginning that my post was "full of conjecture".

Perhaps you can enlighten me on the workings of getting an MLS contract? Does an interested team tell the front office "we can afford Tennyson at 50 thousand a year" and MLS negotiates in that price range?

Or does MLS simply determine what they think he is worth and offer a contract? I was under the impression that the front office for MLS set the price. If this is true, then why the tryouts with various teams?

Is he looking for a team that has salary cap room so he can get paid more? Did he tell SJ "don't bother acquiring my rights if you can't pay me over (insert dollar signs here) said amount?

If MLS is going to pay him the same no matter where he plays, then why did LA and SJ pass on him? Could it be because they decided he wasn't good enough for their needs instead of Tennyson saying "they won't pay me what I'm worth".

This can't be true. The league signs youth players to P-40 contracts, not the teams. I think you meant "developmental" contract which is even less money then the P-40s make. McKinley wouldn't have been the first to turn down such a contract.

 

Well nobody's perfect.

Previous poster covered this. P-40 is offered by the league to previously non-drafted, non-college players. Tennyson was neither.

But I'll go along with the Developmental contract theory. That's limited to between $500 and $1000 a month and doesn't use a roster spot. Not exactly a huge vote of confidence from Sigi, the coach who knows him best..

Somebody else mentioned this. Apparently they used him as a sub in a US Open Cup game and he scored in injury time. Now that everybody mentions it, I DO vaguely recall it. I think.

But be careful when you talk about "upside" with a 24 year old guy. He's really not likely to suddenly develop great touch or World Class moves. By this age a guy's game is pretty well shaped. You can get better at the things you do for sure, but nobody suddenly becomes a different KIND of player in his mid-twenties.

Please, though, don't get the wrong impression here. I am NOT in any way down on the guy. Quite the contrary. What I'm saying is the same thing I told LA fans last summer who got big old woodies over the guy: he can contribute for an MLS side; he has skills and talent. He is NOT however very likely to set the league on fire. MLS defenders are better than that.

If I were running SJ, I'd give him a spot, assuming you've got some cap. He's proven himself at the A league level and has some monetary value there which you'll have to meet, but we're still not talking $100,000 or anything. The A League payscale is pretty pedestrian.